Simple Steps to Actionable Insights

A pet-peeve of mine is the market research industry phrase “actionable insights” which is now, in reality, mostly empty and meaningless. We are at the point where every research company, tool, and professional (even beyond those in our industry) has learned to refer to “actionable insights” as the fundamental currency of what research offers. Some companies even claim to have tools that, with the click of a button, deliver actionable insights right to your desktop.

And yet, research findings still struggle for attention. Why?

In our view, the problem is that few research professionals make an explicit link in the design phase of their research between the data that will be generated, and the specific decisions that need to be made.  If that link is not specified, then even if the report is rich, detailed, and full of insight, chances are it will not be used.  And if it is not used, it probably was not “actionable” to begin with.

Here is an example.  Suppose you measure customer satisfaction, and then probe deeply into multiple specific areas.  Some think that including more areas to measure and getting granular-level detail will yield “actionable insights.” You will get specific information to help you formulate actions for improvement, right?  Wrong.  It is only actionable if the business is able to address (and prepared to invest in) each of those areas.  If you already know there is nothing you can do about the speed of delivery to your customers, then do not ask about it.  If you already know you cannot act on an issue, then what the data say will not matter, nor will it matter how much insight you bring to that data.  The decision will be the same, and the research will not be used.

Actionable research is not easy.  It goes against our inclination as researchers to get the fullest possible picture of a problem so that we can offer multiple specific solutions and insights.  It also requires a great deal of thinking, listening, and understanding from senior-level researchers who must be intent on understanding you and your business.  The “actionable insights” boilerplate protocols will not work.

Here is a starting point we recommend:  The Art of Asking Questions.  This newsletter article from Versta Research focuses on asking the right questions of your business partners to ensure that research truly speaks to what they will do with it.  It outlines a process you can use internally, and it is a process that we use with our clients as well.

If you do it right, we guarantee you’ll hear your business partners thanking you for “the actionability of your deliverables” (eek, such an ugly phrase! see P.S. below) — or better yet, for delivering research they can really use.

—Joe Hopper, Ph.D.

P.S. As a researcher who focuses on stories and language, I also have a pet-peeve about the ways in which we collectively mangle our language. Take a verb (to act) and turn it into a noun (action) and then force that into an adjective (actionable), and then keep going … shove that back into a noun (actionability). How about if we just say “insights you can use” or “insights that matter”?